Reading the Psalms - A New Resource
As Christians we believe that all Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2Tim 3.16), but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t particular books and sections of Scripture that we love even more than others and that we turn to more frequently for help in times of trouble. Surely in any poll of Christians’ favourite books of Scripture, the Psalms will feature in the top five at least? Any book that helps us grow in our understanding and appreciation of the Psalms should therefore also be highly valued.
In a new book about to be published by the Banner of Truth, William Boekestein and Rob Ventura have done the church a great service by providing Christians with a really useful devotional handbook to the Psalms. They don’t spoon-feed their readers with truth, but instead walk alongside them through each Psalm, setting it in its context, pointing out the distinctive beauties of each song and above all showing how it speaks of Jesus Christ, which is the greatest blessing of the Psalms for the believer.
In commending this new book I can do no better than to give you a sample of what the authors themselves say in their introduction about why they have written it, hoping that it will whet your appetite to read it for yourself. Here’s what they say first of all about their purpose in writing:
‘Why this new book?’ In recent years, several excellent and edifying devotionals have been written on the psalms… However, in using many of these resources, we have often found ourselves longing for a devotional that considers the entirety of each of the 150 Psalms in a single, manageable entry. It would be exegetical—respecting the intent of the entire text, not simply a rich reflection on only one key truth from a psalm, whether a single verse or verse-portion. It would also keep the whole psalm together rather than breaking it into sections that might be read several days apart. Additionally, it would be practical and experiential… More than that, in discovering the meaning of the psalm, readers’ hearts would also be warmed and they would be encouraged in their faith and walk with Christ.’ (p. xv)
They then go on to give five reasons why we should ‘immerse ourselves in the psalms’.
1. Psalms personalize the Christian faith
‘The psalms are saturated with personal language—over 2,000 first and second-person pronouns fill their verses… The psalms give us personal language to talk with God at all times and in all circumstances.’ (p. xvi) And the beauty of this language is that although it is subjective, it is perfectly balanced and true because it is God-breathed. He has given us the vocabulary we need to express all our emotions and thoughts to the Lord in a godly way.
2. Psalms expand our consciousness
‘Some devotional material and worship music—old and new—tends to conform to our experiences or to those we would like to have. The psalms, however, take us where we may not want to go but must go. When we would rather coast, psalms help us fight (Psa. 144:1)… When we are stuck in fear, they call us to boldness (Psa. 44:23-26). When pride swells within us, they remind us to be humble before God (Psa. 18:27)… the psalms stretch us beyond our current preferences and comfort levels, shaping us into mature Christians.’ (p. xvii)
3. Psalms help us pray
The psalms… are prayers… Yet beyond simply reciting them, we should recover the ancient practice of ‘psalm-making’—using the psalms as a framework for our own prayers, much like how we can use the Lord’s Prayer… We can commune with our God through the language and thoughts of the psalms, sincerely expressing our trouble and voicing our praise… When our prayers become mechanical recitations disconnected from our hearts and our relationship with God, the psalms can revive them.’ (p. xvii)
4. Psalms Teach Us How to Sing
‘The psalms were Israel’s inspired songbook, designed for worship.’ (p. xviii) As someone who sings the psalms exclusively in worship, I appreciate this point very much! After all, the New Testament calls Christians to sing the psalms. Although Christians love the psalms, how many of them actually sing them? And how much resemblance is there between many modern worship songs and these songs of the Spirit?
5. The Psalms Help Us Know and Love Jesus
‘In the New Testament, when people didn’t understand who Jesus was, he pointed them to the Old Testament and, in particular, to the psalms (Luke 24:44). The apostles did the same in their preaching (e.g., Acts 2:34, 35; 13:35), demonstrating that the psalms prophetically reveal Christ’s experiences, both implicitly and explicitly.’… The psalms set before us Jesus our suffering Saviour (Psa. 22:1) and our conquering King (Pss. 2; 47), which assures us that he not only sympathizes with us in our suffering, but also governs it for our ultimate good.’ (p. xix)
Boekestein and Ventura then go on to give helpful background on what the psalms are, to help us in our reading of them, with a final section on the imprecatory psalms, which so many believers struggle with.
The main part of the book then deals with each of the 150 psalms, spending roughly two pages on each psalm, regardless of the length (yes, even Psalm 119!). This book would be a great companion in personal Bible reading, family worship or in helping a Pastor give a brief introduction for orientation before singing a psalm in public worship.
I’m thankful for the work these brothers have done on this book and confident that it will enrich the personal, family and congregational worship of believers wherever it is used.
